The question of why Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff keeps talking about the prospect of signing Max Verstappen is tackled on in the latest episode of The Race F1 Podcast.
Ben Anderson and Scott Mitchell-Malm join Edd Straw to ask if Wolff is simply saying what any team boss would when asked about whether they would like to sign Verstappen, or if there is a wider strategy at play.
As part of this discussion, we revisit the circumstances of Mercedes missing out on capturing Verstappen’s signature on a contract a decade ago, and how rising star Andrea Kimi Antonelli could ‘close the loop’ if he proves himself worthy of promotion to F1 in 2025.
We also look at the struggles Mercedes has faced with its 2024 F1 car so far this season and ask what it will take to turn things around and show a level of performance that could tempt Verstappen to make a move in the future.
And looking only a little further down the grid, we examine Haas’s start to the season after picking up four points in the first three races and, unlike Mercedes, vastly exceeding expectations.
But after former team principal Guenther Steiner’s comments on whether the team was excessively negative, should that positive start have been less of a surprise?
The Race F1 Podcast is available free to subscribe to from all good podcast suppliers, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
